He is A highranking Income TAx official with difference. He crooons in the golden voice of Mohammed Rafi He is Rajesh Dhabre Over a cup of coffee we corner him for an impromptu chat. Over to Rajesh,
How did your musical journey begin?
I was always a hardcore fan of Rafi snd used to listen to his songs and when I ws in class eleven I got a first rank award for singing a song of Rafi. Then I started to sing songs of Rafi and had my own orchestra as a tribute to Rafi.It was widely Appreciated.
Have you learnt clssical music?
Yes. I m well versed in Classical music. To sing the songs of RAFI COMPOSED By Naushad in films like BAijuBawra one needs a strong classical base.
There were many Rafi clones like Shabbir Kumar, Anwar And MunnA A.Do you also want to follow their path?
No. I am completely individualistic And would like to follow my own path.
There is a lot of debate tht RAfi ws overshdowed by KISHORE KUMAR After Aradhana ?
I still maintain that Rafi wAs always the No.one singer even after Kishore’s Advent
Who are your other favorite singers?
Manna Dey, Mukesh And Hemant Kumar.
Who re your other favorite composers tody?
Shankar Ehsan Loy.
And your favorite singer?
Sonu NigAm.
Hve you composed songs?
Yes I have and basically bhjan albums with singers like Shankar Mahadevan, Anoop Jalota, etc with bhakti Songs by Sant Tukaram etc.
Tody there are a lot of musical reality shows on television? Is it A good platform?
Yes. They Are good platform for wannbe singers to showcase their talent as we didnt have anything like this before in our times.
Would you like to be a playvback singer for films in the future?
Yes I certainly want to.
Did anyone from Rafi sahabs family come to your programme?
Yes.His son Shahid Rafi and his daughters generally come fror my progrmmes..
On that musical note we take his leave.
